"After much prayer and deliberation, it is with very heavy hearts that the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament have come to this decision," the school's president, Sister Patricia Suchalski, said in a statement posted on the school's website Wednesday night. "The Board of Directors, the School Administration, and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament worked tirelessly to meet the financial challenges facing the Prep, but after reviewing the financial projections for the 2013-14 school year, the Sisters concluded that the Prep does not have a financially sustainable future.

"The Sisters deeply regret that their decision could not be different, but due to the realities of their congregation’s limited resources and those of the Prep, no other decision was possible."

The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament said the school will close at the official end of the school year in July.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans also issued a statement on the matter, noting that officials were "saddened and surprised" by the decision.

"We thank the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for their ministry to New Orleans and Xavier University Preparatory School," it read. "While Xavier University Preparatory School is not owned or operated by the Archdiocese of New Orleans, we did offer financial resources to the Sisters, but the Sisters, while grateful, declined our offer."

The school's website notes that it employs more than 25 full-time faculty members and has twice been commended as a Secondary School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education.

The all-girls school, located Uptown, was founded in 1915.

"(It was) straight shock. I could not move for a minute," said Tracie Bland, who graduated from the Xavier Preparatory School in 1992.

Bland and dozens of other former students and parents attended a closed-door meeting at the school Wednesday evening.

"My daughter is a first-year student here," said parent Whitley Culberson. "She loves it, and to get news like this, it really hurts. I feel blindsided."

For Bland, it's the end of a family tradition.

"To have something like that taken from the community, it's like a death in the family," said Bland.

The announcement follows a similar decision last year to shutter another Catholic school, Cathedral Academy. Parents were notified in December that the school would close after the current school year.

"I understand, but it hurts because the girls have so much pride. They really love it," Culberson said.

School leaders said there will be a series of meetings in the coming days to finalize the details on how the students will make a transition to other schools.